Security threat, tension looming

MIR MOSTAFIZUR RAHAMAN | Published: August 24, 2023 22:48:49

Apprehensions over rise in terrorist activities and tension between the host community and Rohingya refugees are looming large, as the host country observes the sixth anniversary of the Rohingya influx today (Friday).
The mass exodus of Rohingyas into Bangladesh started on August 25, 2017, and within a year nearly one million of them took shelter in Cox's Bazar district following brutal ethnic cleansing by the Myanmar security forces.
The government attributed the delay in repatriation of Rohingyas to 'lack of sincerity from the Myanmar side'.
According to Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen, some international organisations are hindering the repatriation process as they are in favour of integration of Rohingyas into Bangladesh society.
Commenting on the latest situation, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam said gun- running and drug-trafficking incidents increased in the Rohingya camps, while members of the law-enforcing agencies were killed and injured.
As predicted earlier, the delay in their repatriation is emerging as a security threat to the whole region, he added.
Due to the delay, several terrorist groups, including the Arakan Salvation Army (ARSA), have extended their activities in the Rohingya camps.
According to a report of the Ministry of Defence, infighting among 11 criminal groups inside the camps is worsening the situation, as all of them want to control drug-trafficking, extortion and human-trafficking business in the camps.
The report, submitted to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Defence, has made it clear that the presence of ARSA and their suspicious activities are creating security risks.
At present, the number of registered Rohingyas in the 33 camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas of Cox's Bazar is 1.2 million.
According to the report, another terrorist group named the Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) is active in the Ukhiya and Palongkhali camps.
Officials of the Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) office also admitted that several armed groups are active in the camps. The Ministry of Defence report said some 22 people were killed in the Rohingya camps in 2021, and the number increased to 42 in 2022.
According to another report, between August 2017 and May 2023, at least 125 murder cases, 92 abduction cases, 427 arms cases, and 1,185 drug-related cases were filed with respective police stations in Cox's Bazar, while 4,755 people were prosecuted between 2020 and May 2023.
As the Kutupalong camp, controlled by the ARSA, is near the border's zero line, its surveillance and regular patrolling are tough. Some camps have turned into hubs for conducting organisational activities and training of the ARSA, the report added.
Commenting on the issue, RRRC Commissioner Mizanur Rahman said the delay in repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland in Rakhine state of Myanmar resulted in surge in terrorist communities.
Talking to the FE, the foreign minister recently said some foreign governments and international organisations opposed the repatriation, as they thought that the situation in Rakhine is not conducive.
"They've suggested us to provide Rohingyas with vocational trainings, so that they can be engaged in income-generating activities here. But we've said we do not want them to stay here, as we are already burdened with huge population."
About the Chinese effort to facilitate the repatriation, Dr Momen said Chinese Special Envoy for Asian Affairs Deng Xijun recently came to Dhaka only to discuss the Rohingya issue.
Meanwhile, tension between host community and Rohingyas along with number of conflicts between them has been rising.
There has been a growing sense among local people holding refugees responsible for inflation and negative impact on their jobs, as daily wages there have come down by 50 per cent since 2017, officials said.
According to reports, before the arrival of new refugees in Cox's Bazar, daily wages in agricultural sector were Tk 500-600 (US$5-6) and Tk 600-700 ($6-7) in construction sector, which have now come down to Tk 200-250 ($2-2.6).
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